creepy crawl

So I figured I would do a Halloween mani since I haven't really done anything spooky so far. I used two different plates; M28 from Konad and BM13 from Bundle Monster.

military leopard

I finally got my hands on the new OPI military green - the name is a little odd, Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window, but I really do love the color.
 I used image plate BM-221 tonight, 59 plates to go ;)

birds of a feather

I'm thinking that as a new challenge I'll go through all of my image plates and use at least one design from each. So far I have 61 plates, so this might be quite a job. Tonights is from Bundle Monster, plate BM-214.

this is the plate:

too cool for prep school

I'm ashamed to admit it but I've been watching a LOT of Gossip Girl lately and I have to say, I'm kind of obsessed with all things preppy right now.

butterflies...I think?

I honestly have no idea if these are butterflies or bows, but either way, I think they're adorable :)

return of the stamp

2 nights in a row! I needed a little break from hand painting - or rather, my wrist did! I have missed the ease of my trusty image plate and stamp <3

silver aztec

Simple Aztec design from image plate BM-204. For the silver I used Revlon Top Speed in Metallic.

from spira

I found this on one of my favorite design sites, Print & Pattern. This is by an artist named Linda Sjunnesson from a line she did for Spira, an interior design company in Sweden. I love the vintage look of the pattern :)


the nails:

the original:

see these ice creams?

I've been thinking about a mani like this for a while - I was going to put faces on them too, but that would be over the top ;)

rocket science

too tired to even write....

wild card

I had no idea what to do tonight so I just started looking through all of my image plates....
This is what I ended up with :)

candy colored trees

I found the most amazing website where you can design patterns and color palettes and browse thousands of designs that other people have made. I used a tree pattern that was already created and customized the palette.
Now I'll to have to figure out how to divide my time between Pinterest and Colourlovers ;)

black ice

I got a new case for my phone and it is ridiculous! Every time my husband looks at it he just laughs and shakes his head, but I love it!! So it was only a matter of time before it turned into a mani....

the nails:

and the case:

proud as a peacock

Used just nailpolish for this mani and I forgot how long it takes to dry :(
The colors are more glossy than the paint and I really like the gold. This was inspired by a classic peacock mani that I saw on Supa Nails blog - if you haven't checked that out you should, she is awesome.

we are 138

No explanation needed.

classic leopard

No bells or whistles, just good old fashioned leopard print!

cutesvilles 100th!!

100 posts! That means, with the exception of the time I was on vacation, I have had different nails every day since the end of June. 
I've been a bit heavy on the bows lately but I can't help it - I love painting them! I did use some rhinestones for the first time though, so I switched it up a bit ;)

cutesville camo

I got these adorable camo pants at J Crew the other day and I wanted to do a cute camo design to go with them. This, believe it or not, ended up taking about 5 hours to do! I just couldn't get the look I was going for and started over from scratch twice :( 
 I finally decided to focus more on the cute and less on the camo ;)

Vampy V-gap

This mani is a variation on a style that was made popular in the 1930's where is was fashionable to leave the half moon and the tip of the nail bare.

Marianne Mead's book, Charm & Personality, originally published in 1938, stated that "neither the moon at the base of the nail, nor the whitened tip is covered with polish. While a few women will cover the entire nail with polish, this style is considered a little extreme, and the more conservative leave the moon and tip free of polish."

I guess I would have been considered "a little extreme"...

fabulous filigree

Another stamped mani, for this one I used BM-201. I didn't have the right color of green in nail polish so I used acrylic paint for the base (hopefully it won't peel off!.)
It almost looks a bit Halloween-y, which was totally unintentional, but I guess its fitting ;)  

lace and flowers

I had to do a quick mani tonight so I thought I would do a little stamping. I used Konad plate M57 for the flowers and the fishnet - the result is a very sweet lace look :)

Glasgow rose

This mani is based on a stained glass panel by the incredible Scottish architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

This was the inspiration:

polka party!

I used all acrylic paint again and it is so fun to work with :) I did run into a problem yesterday because I used a different brand as a base coat on my right hand. Half way through the day the paint actually started to peel off - I think its because the other brand was more of a craft paint.

birds on a wire

I did this whole mani with acrylic paint! I am loving how easy it is to work with and the fact that it has no odor is pretty awesome too :)

cutesville meets betseyville

I love the colors Betsey Johnson uses - everything is so vibrant! Here is a mani I did based on one of her rose patterns <3 I used acrylic paints for the design and I find it so much easier!

and here is the original:

chevron

A simple design with my favorite color combination - black, white, and red <3

laser V2

Nailside is pretty much top dog when it comes to the laser mani. I tried it a few months ago but I found it really difficult to keep the tape even and the nail polish just wouldn't stay where it was supposed to.
I ordered some graphic chart tape last week so I decided to give it another go. What a difference!! This stuff is great; I got it in 1/8th in and 1/16th in. The tape sticks to the nail very well and its the exact same width every time. So much easier!

Oh Deer!

While coming up with a new challenge I've decided to go through all of my image plates. I have some ridiculously cute ones and I am really looking forward to some fun mani's. Tonight's is a deer stamp that I've been waiting patiently to use for about a month!

Zebra!

For the last mani in my alphabet nails project I choose zebra, a). because its the only thing I could think of, and b). I wanted to do an all glitter animal print. Not bad for my first attempt, but glitter sure is messy!
Not sure what to do next - states, countries that visit my blog, halloween....not quite sure but I really enjoyed having a challenge.

yellow jacket!

Not a whole lot of options for "Y"....but this works for me :)
I read recently that you can use acrylic paint for nail art so I ordered a set and I also got a set of new brushes. Both seem to be working out well so far. The brushes are from M.A.S.H. and the paints are from Reeves. On the plus side, the paint dries faster than nail polish and it doesn't smear with a top coat; negatives, I'm not exactly sure what the best way to remove it is if I make a mistake, and some of the colors aren't very opaque. We'll see how it goes.....

"X" marks the spot!

I was all set to do "x-ray" nails for today when I came up with this on my way home from work. Love how it turned out - I've used a make-up sponge a couple of times now to give a faded, old-timey look and it worked out well.